Navigational instructions are commonly provided in order to direct users to a destination. The navigational instructions may direct a user who is driving, walking, bicycling or otherwise moving towards the destination. In some instances, the navigational instructions are provided in the form of a map with textual or other visual indicators, such as arrows, to indicate the directions to be taken to advance towards the destination. When approaching an intersection, for example, the navigational instructions may indicate whether the user should proceed through the intersection, should turn right at the intersection or should turn left at the intersection. Although navigational instructions in the form of a map are commonly provided, the navigational instructions may be provided in other manners including as a series of textual directions to be read by the user.
In many instances, the navigational instructions are provided by a mobile terminal, such as a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer or the like, that is carried by the user as the user proceeds towards the destination. Although the navigational instructions are helpful to direct the user to the intended destination, the navigational instructions are commonly presented in a manner that requires the user to view the mobile terminal, such as the display of the mobile terminal, in order to interpret the navigational instructions. In other words, a mobile terminal may provide navigational instructions in the form of one or more visual indications, such as a map, textual directions or the like, that must be viewed by the user in order to interpret the navigational instructions.
In some instances, the user may be unable or may otherwise not wish to view the navigational instructions provided by a mobile terminal. For example, a user may be driving and therefore unable to divert their attention from the roadway in order to view the navigational instructions provided by the mobile terminal. Alternatively, the mobile terminal upon which the navigational instructions are presented may be in a pocket of an article of clothing worn by the user such that the navigational instructions presented upon a display of the mobile terminal may not be visible to the user. Still further, the user may be engaged in conversation with another person or may otherwise be focused on another task and may not wish to divert their attention in order to view the display of the mobile terminal upon which the navigational instructions are presented. Additionally, the provision of navigational instructions in the form of one or more visual indications, such as a map, textual directions or the like is particularly challenging and, in some instances, useless for users who are blind or are otherwise visually limited.
Although navigational instructions are commonly presented in the form of one or more visual indications, navigational instructions may sometimes be presented in other manners, such as via non-visual indications, e.g., via audible indications. In some instances, the user may find such non-visual indications of the navigational instructions to be distracting or intrusive, such as in a situation in which the announcement of audible indications would be undesirable or inappropriate.